You’re all familiar with the Gedenk Award for Toleranceand the inspiring work of The Gedenk Movement, but we wanted to give you a closer look at the inspirations of co-founder Miri Ben-Ari! Miri took the time to answer some of our most wondered questions, giving us a look into her passions and hopes, and also gave words of advice to all of us that work creatively.

Through the Gedenk Award for Tolerance, students create original works of art and writing to show the importance of cultivating tolerance and safeguarding a peaceful society, based on the lessons learned from the Holocaust and other genocides. You can see the work of last year’s recipients here!

Now let’s hear from Miri!

Alliance: What inspired you to co-found Gedenk?

Miri: I founded the The Gedenk Movement seven years ago because I discovered the urgent need to expand youth education about the Holocaust in order to promote tolerance. As a third generation to Holocaust survivors, I was appalled by studies showing that 50 percent of kids graduating high school in America don’t even know what the Holocaust is. What’s even more concerning is the fact that the young generation doesn’t think that the Holocaust is “relevant” to their lives. I explain more about this in my recent blog on the Huffington Post A World Without Tolerance.Read More